


A Golden Afternoon

by hibiren



Series: Jay's Gladnis Collection [30]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fae, Fae & Fairies, Fae Magic, Faerie!Ignis, Flowers, Gardener!Gladio, Gladnis, Language of Flowers, M/M, Magic, Zine: Full Bloom, [this was the piece that started the series and I can just now post it!], [what started as a musing turned into a whole series and I love how it's evolved!]
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:02:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21919531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hibiren/pseuds/hibiren
Summary: [Piece for Full Bloom Zine's Bouquetlet]You can learn a lot of things from the flowersFor especially in the month of JuneThere's a wealth of happiness and romanceAll in the golden afternoon...
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia
Series: Jay's Gladnis Collection [30]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1151849
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20
Collections: Full Bloom Zine (Final Fantasy XV)





	A Golden Afternoon

**Author's Note:**

> *title & summary from "Golden Afternoon" from Alice in Wonderland*
> 
> Funny story about this, what's now become the fae!Iggy series I've got here all started because of this fic, and while I know the current canon I've built for him has changed, I still love this original story to death!! Without Full Bloom, Faenis might not have happened as he did and I'm super thankful for this zine to give me the opportunity to develop him!

Flowers have a lot to say, if you can learn to understand the ways they communicate. Ignis knew this well. He spent many of his days lingering in his favorite garden, one tended by a man and his younger sister. They both seemed to take great pride in their flowers, and it made Ignis happy as he listened to the flowers sing their morning serenade as the sun rose each day, humming in the breeze as their caretaker sprinkled them gently with his watering can.

Over time Ignis found himself drawn to this man. He hid between the flower buds, hugging the stem of a red tulip and hoping that the shade the petals cast over him was enough to keep him hidden. There was just something magical about him, even though he seemed to be a human. Sometimes, Ignis caught him kneeling in the dirt and taking a struggling sprout in his hands, gently rearranging the dirt around it and lovingly sprinkling a handful of something - nutrients, perhaps? - into the soil and watering it into place. He would speak to it in soft encouragement:

“Looks like you need a little bit of extra help, but that’s okay, we all do sometimes.”

Ignis couldn’t help but smile. As a spirit of flowers himself, it prided him to see any human that took great care of the things that nature gave them. So many were wasteful, ignorant, driven to pollute without consideration that it would harm the very faeries that helped keep their world alive… it was refreshing to see such delicate tending, and in a way, he felt cared for within his heart as well, even though he had never truly been close enough to meet the human.

Sometimes, when dew sprinkled across the opening buds, Ignis would slip out from beneath his favorite hiding spot among a burrow in the gladioli and cast a spell over the garden that let trickling rainbows send their light up from each pearl of dew.

Ignis loved the way his garden friend would light up as he opened his door in the morning, happily smiling at his flowers. It took him a while, but he finally learned the man’s name when his younger sibling called him over one day to help her carry some new pots to line the walkway to their cottage.

“Gladdy, please come help me! These flowerpots are heavy..!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be right there.”

‘Gladdy?’ A very interesting name. Peeking up at the flower above his head, Ignis briefly wondered if he was related to them. Perhaps? A fitting possibility. Minutes passed and blurred as Ignis silently watched the two moving some certainly heavy-looking colorful flowerpots across the yard. It was worth noting that both of them seemed perfectly happy to be outside all day, the sun offering a comfortable warmth and light; it was a welcome contrast from the others he’d come across on his way to the garden.

When the two humans stopped to take a break, the younger one went inside. Ignis took his chance while the man was alone to approach, hovering just slightly closer. He sighed thankfully when he found the sunflowers, because they always gave the best view. Climbing carefully, Ignis reached the highest point he’d be willing to and clung to the stem, listening as a breeze rustled over the garden patch, the flowers rising in a chorus -

_Gladiolus is so lovely, so gentle, he cares about each and every one of us, even when we’re weak, he saves us. We love him, he is beautiful, just like the sun and the sky._

Ignis nodded in agreement, finding himself unable to look away from this familiar yet mysterious human. When he realized, after a strange moment, that it seemed like Gladiolus was looking directly at him, he froze in place, unsure if he should let go and drop into the flower bed or remain where he was and hope he wasn’t seen. It was usually forbidden for faeries to reveal themselves to humans, but… exceptions could be made, for the exceptional.

The human approached, slowly, looking confused yet intrigued as he stood with his hands tucked into the pocket of his dirt-stained apron. He raised a hand and it was just then Ignis realized how much smaller he was; he started feeling intimidated and nervous. The human’s hand was likely the length of his entire body.

“Hey… are you stuck, little guy?” came a gentle voice, a soft rumble, like a distant rush of wind through grass; the same tone he used when talking to the flowers. It soothed Ignis instantly, in a way he didn’t quite understand. “Are you alright?”

Ignis shook his head, but looked at the outstretched hand with curiosity, and then back to the warm brown eyes that met his own nervous gaze. “Gladiolus?”

An eyebrow raised as he responded, “You know my name? Or… were you referring to something in the garden?”

Ignis shook his head again and with one hand, reached out from the sunflower stem so he could gesture for him to come closer. When his other hand’s grip unexpectedly loosened and he found himself slipping down into the dirt, he was unable to bring himself to float in time - instead he found himself cradled gently in Gladiolus’ warm palm, and staring up into his rescuer’s worried face.

“You should be careful, maybe it’d be better if you didn’t climb so high up. Were you trying to look at something?”

Slowly finding the courage to speak, Ignis answered, “Yes… I was trying to look at you. The flowers, ah, they… they’re very grateful for all the love and care that you give them. I… thought it would be appropriate for me to translate their thoughts for you. They speak to me frequently, they sing of how wonderful you are.”

As Gladiolus watched, fascinated, Ignis continued: “You and your sister both are very caring humans. And nature values humans like you more than any other. The other faeries have such difficulty living near humans, afraid of being trapped in a space with nothing green and growing, but, this cottage is like what you as humans call “heaven” to me. It’s very beautiful.”

Gladiolus seemed stunned at everything Ignis had to say, but he listened silently and waited until Ignis was finished talking to speak again.

“That’s… really heartwarming to hear. Thank you,” Gladiolus trailed off, before asking, “I don’t think I heard your name?”

“Ignis,” he answered simply, standing and offering a small bow and a tip of his wide-brimmed flower petal hat before sitting back down in his surprisingly comfortable spot on Gladiolus’ palm.

“Well… Ignis, if you’d like to stick around, could you tell me more about what the flowers have to say? I want to make sure they’re all being taken care of, so I don’t miss any. If you don’t mind me asking for help, that is,” he admitted, glancing away as an awkward flush fell across his face.

Ignis nodded, even offering a small smile. “I’d love to help. If you take me to the edge of the garden, I can tell you all the stories your flowers would like to share with you.”

“That sounds… really great. Thank you. You know, I’ve always wondered what it would be like if I could talk to my plants, because I want to make sure I’m doing what’s best for them…”

The two spent the rest of the evening together, Ignis relaying everything the suddenly chattering flowers had to say about their loving caretaker. The whole field soon buzzed to life. Everything was too much to translate at once so Ignis did his best to explain what he heard; it was a song of joy and comfort, and bliss, and magic. The flowers certainly had a lot to say.

**Author's Note:**

> Another funny story, the name "Bouquetlet" for the minibook was actually my idea! It was a bad floral pun day (as I've been known to make puns) and it ended up sticking! I hope everyone enjoyed my Faenis origin story, now that I can share it! 💐 Perhaps, if this were to fit in the main canon, it could be an encounter they had that Iggy charmed him into believing was a dream and not remembering it, hehe.. so in a way it still fits!


End file.
